Smokin' and the FCC

My weekend was fantastic! Great food was eaten and my new smoker was delivered. 84 inches of smoking prowess, nearly 800 pounds of steel and 3269 square inches of cooking surface. Okay back to the food, we had a nice pasta dish on Saturday with fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes and Sunday bacon wrapped filet mignon with a smoky pepper sauce. However, the recipes of the day are a pair of appetizers. We were shopping in my favorite grocery store, Central Market, and offered a taste of a smoked shrimp and cream cheese spread. My first sample tasted only of the supporting cracker. Therefore, on my second sample I ate only the spread. It tasted only of cream cheese. I could not discern either shrimp or smoke. With a new smoker begging to be broken in I decided that my first efforts would be to cold smoke a few items and make my own spread. According to the manufacturer, the smoker should be operated for four hours empty to burn off the impurities on the metal. After a thorough cleaning and rub down with peanut oil, I lit a fire and heated the smoker to its rated hot temperature of 275o for six hours. Sunday morning, I started a fire but kept the temperature below 100o and cold smoked with apple wood some bacon, salmon, shrimp, cheddar cheese and cod. Everything but the cod came out great. I later used the bacon to wrap the steaks and it seasoned the pepper cream sauce with just the right amount of smokiness. The shrimp and salmon were used to make the cream cheese spreads; Smoked Shrimp and Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese. These spreads will do your tongue proud. Enjoy!

FCC unanimously approved Net Neutrality Rules

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) focuses on six principles. The first four were issued August 5, 2005.

(1)Consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice

(2)Consumers are entitled to run applications and services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement

(3)Consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network

(4)Consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.

The two new principles are:

·Non-discrimination (to ensure that service providers cannot block or degrade lawful traffic over their networks)

·Transparency (a rule that will require broadband ISPs to fully disclose how they are managing their broadband networks and how those techniques could affect customers).

The FCC stressed broadband service providers will be able to manage their networks with regard to applications and usage. This is going to be a very tricky thing to write up, monitor and police. For example, Commissioner Robert McDowell believes the delivery of bits for a video application should get priority over bits associated with an email. This seems reasonable, however, when do the email bits get sent? And what is the priority of email verses text, verses VoIP, verses a gaming application? The FCC may find that they have opened up a Pandora's Box.